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Board of Bar Commission April Meeting Minutes
Minutes, April 22, 2022 SpringHill Suites, Charleston II Deadwood, South Dakota
President William Garry called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Time on Friday, April 22, 2022, in Deadwood, South Dakota. Present at the meeting were Garry, President Elect Lisa Marso, Commissioners Aasen (via Zoom), Christensen (via Zoom), Dougherty, Kempema, King, Pickar (via Zoom), Richter, Roby, Skjoldal, Tiede, and Trefz. Also, present during all or part of the meeting were Executive Director/Secretary-Treasurer Andrew Fergel, Strategic Plan Coordinator Elizabeth Overmoe (via Zoom), Assistant Director Nicole Ogan, Communications Director Tracie Bradford, Access to Justice, Inc. Coordinator Denise Langley (via Zoom), LAP Director Rebecca Porter, YLS President Ole Olesen (via Zoom), Dean of the USD Knudson School of Law, Neil Fulton, Practice Rules Revision Committee Chair John Burke, and Erika Olson (via Zoom).
Minutes of February 16, 2022, Meeting: Commissioner Trefz moved to approve the minutes of the February 16, 2022, meeting held via Zoom. Commissioner Skjoldal seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Young Lawyers Section Report: Ole Olesen, President of the Young Lawyers Section reported on the Section’s ongoing activities for this fiscal year.
Lawyers Assistance Program Report: Lawyers Assistance Program Director Rebecca Porter reported on the activities of the LAP program and her work for the program since her last report. Ms. Porter’s oral report was supplemented with a written report that was included in the Commission’s meeting materials.
Alternative Pathways to Bar Admission Discussion: Neil Fulton, Dean of the USD Knudson School of Law, met with the Commission to discuss alternative pathways to bar admission. Dean Fulton described what other jurisdictions are doing in this area and answered questions of the Commission. Both the Commission and Dean Fulton agreed that this was a discussion that would continue.
Association Healthcare Plan: Dan Maguire met with the Commission to talk about an association healthcare plan for the State Bar of South Dakota. As part of his presentation to the Commission, Mr. Maguire answered questions and described five plan options that would be available for selection under an association plan. Mr. Maguire also presented proposed rates for each plan option. The Commission did not take any action after Mr. Maguire’s presentation as it elected to take additional time to consider the information presented.
Member Benefits Committee’s Plan for Survey: Strategic Plan Coordinator Elizabeth Overmoe spoke to the Commission about the work of the Member Benefits Committee and the Committee’s plan to survey Bar members. Ms. Overmoe shared a draft survey with the Commission and answered questions. After Ms. Overmoe’s report, those present were asked to encourage their colleagues and firm members to complete the survey when received.
Financial Report: Fergel and Ogan presented a financial report to the Commission that included information about fund balances in all the operational accounts for the State Bar of South Dakota, SD CLE, Inc., and Access to Justice, Inc.
Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023: Following the financial report, Fergel and Ogan presented a preliminary proposed FY 2022-2023 budget for the State Bar of South Dakota and answered questions from the Commission about the budget proposal. No action was taken on the proposed budget as the FY 2022-2023 budget will be finalized by the Commission at its July 2022 meeting.
Proposed Practice Rule Changes: John Burke, Chair of the Practice Rules Revision Committee, met with the Commission to propose amendments, which were drafted and approved by the Practice Rules Committee, to the following:
a. Appendix C of SDCL Ch. 15-6 (Forms) b. SDCL 15-6-45(a) – Subpoena for Attendance of Witnesses c. SDCL 1-26-33.2 – Time for Serving Brief d. SDCL 15-6-5 – Service and Filing of Pleadings and Other Papers
After Mr. Burke’s presentation, the following action was taken:
Commissioner King made a motion that proposed amendments to Appendix C of SDCL Ch. 15-6 (Forms), be presented to the Bar membership for consideration at the annual business meeting in June. President Elect Marso seconded the motion. Motion Passed.
Commissioner King made a motion that the proposed amendments to SDCL 15-645(a) – Subpoena for Attendance of Witnesses, be presented to Bar membership for consideration at the annual business meeting in June. Commissioner Skjoldal seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Commissioner Kempema made a motion that the proposed amendment to SDCL 126-33.2 – Time for Serving Briefs, be presented to Bar membership for consideration at the annual business meeting in June. Commissioner King seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Commissioner King made a motion that the proposed amendments to SDCL 15-6-5 – Service and Filing of Pleadings and Other Papers, be presented to Bar membership at the annual meeting in June. Commissioner Roby seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Proposed Amendments to South Dakota Title Standards: Erika Olson, a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section, and Chair of the Section’s Title Standards Committee met with the Commission via Zoom to present proposed amendments to the current 2002 South Dakota Title Standards. Ms. Olson advised the Commission that the proposed changes presented were changes that the Committee felt were obviously changes and the Committee is continuing to work on other changes that are more substantive. Ms. Olson said the Committee would present a proposal with the substantive changes to the Commission for approval next year and asked that the proposed changes presented this year be approved for presentation to the Bar membership at this year’s annual meeting. President-Elect Marso then made a motion that the proposed amendments to the 2002 South Dakota Title Standards be presented to Bar membership at the annual meeting in June. Commissioner Kempema seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Listing Bar Commission Members on Public Side of Bar’s Website: Fergel asked the Commission members whether they would be open to having the name and position of each Commission member posted on the public side of the State Bar website. Thereafter, Commissioner King made a motion to post the names and positions of each Commission member on the public side of the State Bar website. Commissioner Skjoldal seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Appointment of State Bar Delegate: Fergel informed the Commission that the term of the current Bar delegate to the ABA House of Delegates will expire at the end of the ABA’s Annual Meeting in August. Pursuant to policy, the Commission appoints the Bar delegate; however, the process for selection of the delegate has varied. After Fergel answered questions about length of term and how the selection of the delegate occurred in the past, Commissioner Skjoldal made a motion that the policy of the Commission be that the Bar advertise and accept applications of interested eligible members for the delegate position in every year that the term of the Bar delegate expires and that the Commission then select the delegate from the pool of members that submitted applications. Commissioner Tiede seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Voting Procedure for 2022 Annual Business Meeting: The Commission discussed the upcoming Annual Bar Convention and Business Meeting which will held this year at the Ramkota Hotel and Convention Center in Rapid City, SD. Fergel asked the Commission how voting should be conducted at the Annual Business Meeting on Friday, June 24th, noting that last year members that chose not to attend the business meeting in-person were allowed to attend via Zoom and vote electronically.
Commissioner Kempema made a motion conduct the business meeting in the same manner it was conducted last year and allow members that choose not to appear inperson to attend and vote remotely via an electronic platform. Commissioner Tiede seconded the motion. After discussion, the motion passed. Thereafter, the Commission asked Fergel to draft a proposed amendment or amendments to the State Bar Bylaws that would require the Bar to provide an option for members to attend and vote at the annual business meeting via an electronic platform on a permanent basis going forward. The Commission will consider the draft at its May 2022 meeting and if approved by the Commission, the amendment(s) will be presented to Bar membership for consideration at the annual business meeting on June 24, 2022.
Sexual Harassment Prevention Training: Fergel informed the Commission that a few members have inquired whether trainings other than the training offered by the State Bar of South Dakota would be approved to meet the sexual harassment prevention training requirements set forth in SDCL 16-18-1.1. After discussion, President-Elect Marso made a motion to require all members to take the training offered by the Bar to meet the requirements of SDCL 16-18-1.1 and to not approve other trainings. Commissioner Trefz seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Date and Location of July 2022 Bar Commission Retreat and Meeting: The Commission discussed when and where the July 2022 Bar Commission retreat and meeting should be. After a brief discussion, the meeting and retreat were scheduled for July 21st and 22nd, 2022, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
There being no further business, Commissioner King made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Kempema seconded the motion. The motion passed and President Garry adjourned the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
